Mine-door.



Z. N. COX.

MINE DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3, 1911.I

Patented Aug. 6,'1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

ZENAS N. COX, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

MINE-DOOR.

i,osacea.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 6,1912.,

Applicationiled July 3, 1911. Seriial No. y836,786.

Tor all whom 'it may concern: l

Be it known that I, ZENAS N. Cox, a cit-izen of the United States, residing in the l lcity and county of Denver and 'State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 1n `Mine-Doors; and

I do declare the following to be a full, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, whichform a part of this specication.

My invent-ion relates to improvements in mine doors, arranged to be automatically opened and closed as the cars pass through the drifts or tunnels in which the doors are located.

It is necessary in mine tunnels to have doors at suitable intervals, which practically close 'the -tunnel for the purpose of delecting the air employed to v entilate the mine, whereby the air current shall be compelled to change its direction for the purpose of making an abrupt turn when it becomes necessary to enter a drift or branch tunnel extending at right angles to the main tunnel, or whenever it becomes necessary that the air current'should enter an intersecting tunnel. I-Ieretofore, so far as I am aware, no very satisfactory construction has been devised for this purpose.

In my improved construction, I employ two coperating door members, arranged to swing inwardly to form a closure extending diagonally across the tunnel, one of the members being pivoted at one side of the tunnel and the other on the opposite side,

their inner edges being arranged to .overlap, and the two members being so conlnected that, as soon as the car,.traveling in either direction, engages a bufer on one door member, both of the members swing outwardly to allow the car to pass, while, as soon as the car has passed, the `doors close `automatically by virtue of a Weight acting directly on'one door member and indirectly on the other door member by virtue of the lcable connections between the two door members. A

Having briefly outlined my improved const-ruction, I will proceed to describe the same in detail, reference being made to the accompanying drawing, in which .is illustrated an embodiment thereof.

In this drawing: Figure 1 is a horizontal section taken longitudinally through a tunnel, cutting the two members of the door and showing a 'car in the act of opening the two door members. Fig. 2 is a similar section, showing the door members closed, the car being absent.A This is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3, looking downwardly. Fig. 3 is a cross section, taken through the tunnel, the mine door construction and the car being viewed in the direction indicated by arrow 3, in Fig. 2.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.-

.It may ceassumed that the tunnel-illustrated in the drawing is formed in' a coal mine, and, as these mines are not usually timbered, I will describe a suitable timbering construct-ion which may be employed where each door is located, in order that the door members may be properly supported and operated.

Let the numeral 5 designate the track rails and 6 the ties usually employed in connection with these tracks. -At the top and bottom of the tunnel, two beams 7 the upper one of which is not shown are diagonally arranged, parallel with each other, their extremities being secured to top and bot-tom beams 8 and 9, the bottom beams being interrupted by the track rails. The diagonally-arranged beams 7 may have their extremities mortised into, or otherwise suitably secured to, the extremities of the top and bottom beams 8 and 9.

The two door members 10 are each pivcted at their outer extremities at the top and bottom, as shown at 12, and they are so arranged that, when they occupy a position extending diagonally across the tunnel, their inner extremities, which are beveled, will overlap, as shown-at 13. The top beams 8 have their opposite extremities let into pockets formed in the opposite sides of the Walls of the tunnel, as shown at 14, in order to support the beams `in proper position to make it practicable to hinge the doory members thereto. These beams 9, both at the top and bottom, are braced -by upright posts 15 and 16.

The two door members arel connected near their extremities by two cables 17. Each cable has its extremities connected with eyebolts 18 attached to the respective door members, one cable being connected tothe door members on one side, and the other cable on the opposite side. Each of these cables engages intermediate its extremities a pulley or sheave-Wheel 19, which is mounted on a spindle 20, whose upper extremity is mounted in one extremity of a diagonallyarranged top beam 21, whose extremities enter pockets 22 formed in the opposite walls of the tunnel, these pockets being out out to make room for the sheaves and allow the cables to work freely thereon during the operation of opening and'closing the door members. l

One of the door members is connected, near its inner or free extremity, with a cable 23,' as shown vat 24;, while the oppositev extremity of the cable is connected with a weight 25, the cable intermediate its extremities passing over a supporting pulley 26 supported by a depending bracket 27, secured to' one extremity of the top beam 8.

This weight is of sufficient mass to close both door members by its action on one door member, by virtue of th'e cable connection between the two door members, asl soon as the car, or other force, which has caused the door members to swing open, has ceased toact thereon. Each door member is provided on the side from which the car ap proaches with a butter member 28. This `butter member is arranged, on the car approachingside of the door' member which the car will first engage, and the car, by its action on this buer, will force the door member which it directly engages outwardly to the open position to allow the car to pass, but as the two door members/are connected by the cables, as illustrated in the drawing, and heretofore described, the opening of the door member, `directly acted on by the car, will serve to impart a correspondmg movement to the `opposit-e door member, and, during ihisopening operation, the weight 25 will be raised, whereby, as soon as the car has passed through between the open door members, the weight will move downwardly and close one door by its roei-ece direct action thereon, and the other door member, by virtue of the cable connection between the two door members.

From the foregoing description, the use and operation of my improved mine door construction willbe readily understood and need not be described further in detail.

\ While illustrated in the drawing, the two door members, when in the closed position, extend diagonally across the mine tunnel at an angle of approximately 45, it is evident that this angle'may be varied' at will, or as position their free extremities overlap, cable connections Abetween the door members onf `opposite sides of the tunnel, suitable means for guiding the cables intermediate their extremities, and means connected with one door member and serving to automatically throw the same t-o the closed position by its direct action thereon and the other member to the closed position by .indirect action thereon through the cable connections between the door members, substantially as described.

2. A mine door, comprising two coperating door members respectively hinged at opposite sides of the mine tunnel and serving, when swung inwardly, to close the tunnel, a weight connected with one member and normally. serving tothrow it to the closed position, and cable connections between the two door members for simulta neously throwing the other door member to described.k

In testimony whereof I aiiix my slgnature in presence of two witnesses.

ZENAS N. COX.

lVitnesses:

JNO. G. POWELL, F. E. BOWEN. 

